London Metal Exchange base metals prices were mostly lower at the 5pm close on October 22, with investors looking to book profits from peaks reached earlier in the week. Aluminium's three-month price rolled back most of the gains made so far this month, with its closing price on Friday at 5pm, at $2,868 per tonne, being the lowest since October 6, with more than 37,000 lots traded. The metal...Read More
China's domestic rebar prices fell sharply on Friday October 22 following a drop in the futures market, but the lower prices stimulated an increase in buying interest.DomesticEastern China (Shanghai): 5,300-5,350 yuan ($829-837) per tonne, down by 330 yuan per tonneNorthern China (Beijing) weekly assessment: 5,240-5,270 yuan per tonne, down by 360-380 yuan per tonneThe January rebar futures contra...Read More
The price of nickel sulfate in China was unmoved in a cautious market during the week to Friday October 22, amid fears of an oversupply of material and despite volatile nickel prices, sources told Fastmarkets.Nickel prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange hit an all-time high on October 21, and closed at 155,880 yuan ($24,366) per tonne, on news of a possible export ban on raw materials from Indon...Read More
Large volumes of steel billet position cargoes held by traders have been offered at lower prices to buyers in Southeast Asia in recent days amid China's continued price decline, sources told Fastmarkets.Closures at Chinese rerolling mills amid power rationing and environmental measures, together with spiraling ferrous futures markets, have badly damaged steel billet demand in the country this week...Read More
Domestic prices for steel rebar in Poland were largely unchanged over the past week, but local mills would be looking for higher prices starting next week because of increased costs, Fastmarkets heard on Friday October 22.Trading activity in the local market started to pick up this week, sources said."We see an increasing level of inquiries. The market is waking up," a local mill said.The local mi...Read More
Mexico's Altos Hornos de M?(C)xico (Ahmsa) is considering seeking Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for its Minera del Norte thermal coal subsidiary, after a Mexican commission canceled state supply contracts, the company said on Thursday October 21.Minera del Norte - also known as Minosa - is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Mexican steelmaker and has the capacity to produce 6.6 million tonnes per...Read More
European trade groups warned about the potentially "catastrophic impact" of a Chinese magnesium supply shortage on metals producers in the region, calling on the European Commission and national governments to take immediate action to mitigate the risks to industry.The groups - European Aluminium, European steel association Eurofer, European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, European metals a...Read More
Fastmarkets has corrected its trioxide grade and standard grade antimony prices, in warehouse Rotterdam, which were incorrectly published on Friday October 22 due to a reporter error.The price for MB-SB-0001 Antimony, max 100 ppm Bi, in-whs Rotterdam, has been changed to $12,900-13,500 per tonne, from an incorrectly published price of $13,300-13,500 per tonne.And the price for MB-SB-0002 Antimony...Read More
Jindal Stainless (Hisar) Ltd (JSHL) has commissioned a new strip mill as part of the first phase of the latest brownfield expansion at its Specialty Products Division (SPD), the company said on Wednesday October 20.The new 26,000-tonnes-per-year precision strip mill takes JSHL's capacity to 48,000 tpy from 22,000 tpy previously, the company said.The capacity expansion further strengthens the compa...Read More
Key data from Fastmarkets' pricing sessions in India, Europe, China and the United States on Friday October 22.China Higher port prices and the likelihood of fewer shipments arriving in the coming months supported buying sentiment in the seaborne manganese ore market. Portside low- and high-grade manganese ore markets extended their rallies amid firm sentiment among suppliers, but buying appetites...Read More
Domestic hot-rolled coil prices across Europe were stable on Friday October 22, after declining earlier in the week, sources told Fastmarkets.Bearish sentiment among buyers in northern Europe and Italy was driven by reduced demand from the automotive industry caused by the ongoing global semiconductor shortage and competitive import offers from Central Europe. Automotive steel consumption is estim...Read More
Ferrous scrap prices in the global markets continued to strengthen in the week ended Friday October 22 amid firm demand and tight supply. Turkish steel mills continued to pay higher prices for deep-sea scrap cargoes, while buyers in Southeast Asia had to raise their bids because of limited supply.?EUR?Turkish steel mills end the week with five deep-sea cargo trades, prices up?EUR?Tight supply in t...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday October 22.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
Spot prices for hot-rolled coil in China fell sharply on Friday October 22 following the tumble in futures prices on Thursday triggered by Beijing's moves to rein in soaring coal prices.Domestic Eastern China (Shanghai): 5,550-5,600 yuan ($869-877) per tonne, down by 150-160 yuan per tonne Northern China (Tangshan) weekly assessment: 5,550-5,620 yuan ($869-880) per tonne, down by 160-170 yu...Read More
Unites States steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs plans to increase its share of the US domestic prime scrap market amid increasing demand and the failure of the country's own manufacturing supply to keep up, the company's chairman, president and chief executive officer said.Lourenco Goncalves told a conference call for the Cleveland, Ohio-based company's third quarter earnings that the company didn't hav...Read More
The price for grade 18/8 alloy steel scrap increased due to higher nickel costs, while underlying market fundamentals remained stable, sources told Fastmarkets on Friday October 22.Fastmarkets' weekly price assessment for stainless steel scrap 18/8 solids domestic, delivered merchants UK was ?1,340-1,440 ($1,850-1,988) per tonne on Friday, up by ?10-40 per tonne from ?1,330-1,400 per tonne the...Read More
Unites States steelmaker Cleveland-Cliffs plans to increase its share of the US domestic prime scrap market amid increasing demand and the failure of the country's own manufacturing supply to keep up, the company's chairman, president and chief executive officer said.Lourenco Goncalves told a conference call for the Cleveland, Ohio-based company's third quarter earnings that the company didn't hav...Read More
Indian domestic prices for steel hot-rolled coil have risen by about 1,500 rupees ($20) per tonne in the week to Friday October 22, with most mills announcing price rises.Mills raised their HRC prices with demand increasing on active restocking by traders and a sharp increase in spot prices.Mills had raised their domestic HRC prices by about 1,000 rupees per tonne in the second week of October.The...Read More
An overview of the new energy materials markets and their price moves in the week to Friday October 22.Susan Zou, Yingchi Yang and...Read More
European trade groups warned about the potentially "catastrophic impact" of a Chinese magnesium supply shortage on metals producers in the region, calling on the European Commission and national governments to take immediate action to mitigate the risks to industry.The groups - European Aluminium, European steel association Eurofer, European Automobile Manufacturers' Association, European metals a...Read More